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April 13, 2010, Alert No. 2,076.
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Senators Kerry and Gillibrand Introduce Bill to Urge Negotiation of Multilateral Treaty on Cyber War

4/12. Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) introduced S 3193 [LOC | WW | PDF], the "International Cyberspace and Cybersecurity Coordination Act of 2010".

This bill would create the position of Coordinator for Cyberspace and Cybersecurity Issues at the Department of State (DOS). This person would be appointed by the President and confirmed by the Senate. This bill also urges the President and DOS to negotiate a multilateral treaty on cyber war.

The Congress's powers in the area of foreign affairs is limited. The Constitution provides that the President has the power to make treaties, that the President shall "receive Ambassadors and other public Ministers", and that the President is "Commander in Chief of the Army and Navy".

The majority of this bill consists of a recitation of findings and senses of the Congress.

This bill states that it is the sense of the Congress that "the international community should strongly consider the utility of negotiating a multilateral framework on cyberwarfare that would create shared norms for cyber conduct and head off the potentiality for larger disruptions related to cyberwarfare".

It continues that the the DOS "should develop and establish a clear and coordinated strategy for international cyberspace and cybersecurity engagement, which should ... consider the utility of negotiating a multilateral framework that would provide internationally acceptable principles to better mitigate cyberwarfare ..."

Sen. Kerry stated in a release that "We must do everything we can to forestall the possibility of cyberwarfare and create a multilateral framework that will persuade countries to cooperate on pressing cyber issues. This bill is the first step to better organize U.S. efforts to develop a coordinated strategic approach to international cyberspace and cybersecurity issues by designating a single diplomat responsible for U.S. cyber policy overseas."

The bill was referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee (SFRC). Sen. Kerry is the Chairman. Sen. Gillibrand is a member.

Other Cyber Security Bills. On March 23, 2010, Sen. Gillibrand and Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-UT) introduced S 3155 [LOC | WW | PDF], the "International Cybercrime Reporting and Cooperation Act". On March 25, Rep. Yvette Clarke (D-NY) and others introduced HR 4962 [LOC | WW], the companion bill in the House.

S 3155 and HR 4962 would approach foreign based cyber threats in a manner similar to the way current law treats foreign based violation of the intellectual property rights (IPR) of U.S. rights holders -- research and write annual reports that identify the bad actor nations that have weak laws and/or enforcement regimes with respect to IPR violators and cyber criminals, and then use various foreign policy tools to attempt to prod those nations into becoming better actors.

Those bills also provide that the Secretary of State "shall ... designate a high-level employee ... to coordinate the full range of activities, policies, and opportunities associated with combating cybercrime and foreign policy". However, those bills make no reference to cyber war, or a negotiation of a cyber war treaty.

See, story titled "International Cyber Crime Bills Introduced in Senate and House" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,067, March 30, 2010.

On March 24, 2010, the Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) amended and approved S 773 [LOC | WW], the "Cybersecurity Act of 2009". See, stories titled "Senate Commerce Committee Amends Cybersecurity Act" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,064, March 25, 2010, and "Senate Commerce Committee to Mark Up Revised Cyber Security Bill" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,060, March 20, 2010.

That bill addresses the development of a skilled cyber security workforce, cyber security of federal government systems, collaboration between the federal government and the private sector in promoting cyber security, and federal authority and powers with respect to cyber security.

S 773 does not address cyber war, or negotiation of a cyber war treaty.

WTO's Lamy Discusses Free Trade and the Making of iPods

4/12. Pascal Lamy, Director General of the World Trade Organization (WTO), gave a speech in Paris, France, titled "Facts and Fictions in International Trade Economics". He rebutted numerous arguments advanced by free trade opponents. He spoke theoretically about international trade, and used manufacturing of IT devices, such as the Apple iPod, to illustrate his arguments.

Pascal 
LamyLamy (at right) argued that trade expansion does not pose a danger to the health of the global economy.

He said that "Reductions in transport costs, the information technology revolution, and more open economic policies have made it easier to ``unbundle´´ production across a range of countries."

"These intermediate goods may cross national borders several times before they are assembled as a final product. Some of what passes for international trade is in reality intra-firm trade, exchanges of intermediate inputs and goods for processing between establishments belonging to the same company. By allowing each country that is a member of the supply chain to specialize in the part or component in which it has a comparative advantage, the internationalization of supply chains creates enormous economic benefits."

But, he continued, "import statistics will overstate the degree of competition that comes from one's trade partners". Moreover, "Relying on conventional trade statistics also gives us a distorted picture of trade imbalances between countries." He used the manufacturing of Apple iPods to illustrate.

"Take the example of an iPod assembled in China by Apple. According to a recent study, it has an export value of $150 per unit in Chinese trade statistics but the value added attributable to processing in China is only $4, with the remaining value added assembled in China coming from the United States, Japan, and other Asian countries. Now I know we tend to use statisticians like lamp posts -- both for support and for illumination -- but I find these statistics very enlightening. The degree to which a given volume of imports implies competition between the factors of production in the country of origin and the importing country's factors of production will be overstated. Focusing on gross values of trade or imports coming from a particular country also understates the degree to which the importing country’s own firms benefit from trade because part of their output is incorporated in the imported good."

He continued, "So bilateral trade statistics may not correctly reflect the origins of traded products. To go back to the example of the $150 dollar iPod imported from China, it turns out that less than 3% ($4 out of $150) of the value of the product reflects China's contribution, with the bulk of the product’s value being made by workers and enterprises in the United States, Japan and other countries. And yet current trade statistics would attribute $150 to Chinese exports." (Parentheses in original.)

He also argued that "the principle of comparative advantage, and more generally, the principle that trade is mutually beneficial, remains valid in the 21st century."

He also argued that current account imbalances "are a natural and widespread economic phenomenon". He said that they are "a sign of international differences in aggregate savings and investment behaviour and have little to do with trade policy".

He also addressed the effect of trade on jobs. "The problem with the argument that trade destroys jobs is that it sees only the threat posed by imports to jobs but does not take into consideration how jobs may be created in the export sector as a consequence of trade opening. It also fails to take into account that trade opening can increase the rate of economic growth, and therefore improve the ability of the economy to create new jobs."

He added that "Some have argued that more trade will drive governments in rich countries to lower their social or labour standards. More trade would hurt workers in rich countries. The problem with this argument is that there is very little empirical basis for it. It is difficult to find examples where countries have lowered social or labour standards in response to trade competition."

Finally, he rebutted the argument that opening up trade equals deregulation.

EC's Almunia Discusses Competition and Merger Reviews

4/9. Joaquín Almunia, Vice-President of the European Commission responsible for Competition Policy, gave a speech in Parma, Italy, titled "Competition, competitiveness, growth: a new impetus for the European Union".

He said that "Telecommunications is one of the best examples of a sector that has been very successfully opened up to competition in recent years -- to the benefit of business as well as individual consumers. As a consequence of liberalisation and technological change, the price businesses in Europe paid for international telephone calls went down 45 per cent between 1998 and 2003."

Joaquín AlmuniaAlmunia (at right) also said that "The EU merger control essentially helps to ensure that market structures in the EU remain competitive. Potential mergers that would remove or significantly reduce effective competition in the market are not allowed to proceed. What we provide is a one stop shop for mergers of a certain size in Europe, thus contributing to keep costs down for business and to provide legal certainty."

"Where a potential merger raises competition problems, the Commission works very closely with the parties to find a solution. What we always must do is to seek effective, viable, and sustainable solutions to competition problems." He added, "But we also have to make sure that Member States do not seek to impose unjustified conditions on European takeovers, so as to protect national champions."

He concluded that "The only way to be competitive and succeed globally is to compete on the basis of ideas, creativity, efficiencies and innovation."

See also, story titled "EC's Almunia Addresses EU Antitrust Policy" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,063, March 24, 2010.

NTIA Reports on Delays in 1710-1755 MHz Band Relocation

4/13. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) National Telecommunications and Information Administration (NTIA) released a report [29 pages in PDF] titled "Relocation of Federal Radio Systems from the 1710-1755 MHz Spectrum Band: Third Annual Progress Report".

This spectrum was reallocated for Advanced Wireless Services (AWS). It was auctioned in 2006 and 2008 in FCC
Auction Numbers 66 and 73. See, story titled "FCC Completes First Advanced Wireless Services Spectrum Auction" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,454, September 21, 2006; story titled "FCC Closes 700 MHz Auction" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,734, March 20, 2008; and story titled "FCC Releases Details of 700 MHz Auction" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 1,735, March 24, 2008.

The NTIA report states that "A vast majority of Federal agencies report that they are meeting their original relocation timeframe and cost estimates." However, "four Federal agencies have indicated that they will need additional time to relocate specific systems out of the band."

The tables in the report reflect that the Department of Defense agencies are on time. The late agencies include the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA).

The report states that the "NTIA and OMB have not granted time extensions to these four agencies, and transition plans are being developed and implemented in a manner that will not negatively impact critical federal functions, nor the commercial licensees' rollout of services."

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In This Issue
This issue contains the following items:
 • Senators Kerry and Gillibrand Introduce Bill to Urge Negotiation of Multilateral Treaty on Cyber War
 • WTO's Lamy Discusses Free Trade and the Making of iPods
 • EC's Almunia Discusses Competition and Merger Reviews
 • NTIA Reports on Delays in 1710-1755 MHz Relocation
Washington Tech Calendar
New items are highlighted in red.
Tuesday, April 13

The House will return from its spring recess. It will meet at 2:00 PM for legislative business. It will consider several non-technology related items under suspension of the rules. Votes will be postponed until 6:30 PM. See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for the week of April 12, and schedule for April 13.

The Senate will meet at 10:00 AM. It will resume consideration of HR 4851 [LOC | WW], the "Continuing Extension Act of 2010", a bill to provide numerous short extensions to expiring statutes.

9:00 AM. The Department of Commerce's (DOC) Bureau of Industry and Security's (BIS) Regulations and Procedures Technical Advisory Committee (RPTAC) will hold a partially closed meeting. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 25, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 57, at Pages 14426-14427. Location: Room 3884, DOC, Hoover Building, 14th Street between Pennsylvania and Constitution Aves., NW.

9:00 AM - 12:45 PM. The Federal Communications Commission's (FCC) Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau (PSHSB) will host an event titled "Workshop on Communications Infrastructure and Information Collection". The deadline to register to attend is April 9, 2010. See, registration page. Location: FCC, Commission Meeting Room (TW-C305), 445 12th St., SW.

10:30 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Heritage Foundation will host a panel discussion titled "Is the Chinese RMB Really Hurting the American Economy?" The speakers will be David Kavanaugh (office of Sen. John Ensign (R-NV)), Daniel Ikenson (Cato Institute), Derek Scissors (Heritage), and Walter Lohman (Heritage). See, notice. The Heritage Foundations will webcast this event. Location: Heritage, 214 Massachusetts Ave., NE.

11:00 AM. Sen. Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Sen. Charles Schumer (D-NY), and Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) will hold a news conference regarding judicial nominations. Location: Room S-325, Capitol Building.

1:30 - 4:30 PM. The Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) National Infrastructure Advisory Council (NIAC) will meet. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 25, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 57, at Pages 14454-14455. Location: National Press Club, Ballroom, 529 14th St.,  NW.

2:00 - 3:30 PM. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division will host a seminar presented by Joshua Gans (Melbourne University) titled "Collusion on the Extensive Margin". For more information, contact Patrick Greenlee at 202-307-3745 or atr dot eag at usdoj dot gov. Location: DOJ, Liberty Square Building, 450 5th St., NW.

2:30 PM. The Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee's (SHSGAC) Subcommittee on Federal Financial Management, Government Information, Federal Services, and International Security will hold a hearing titled "Removing the Shroud of Secrecy: Making Government More Accountable and Transparent II". The witnesses will be John Wonderlich (Sunlight Foundation), Rob Pinkerton (Adobe Systems), Stephen O'Keeffe (Meri Talk Online), and Thomas Blanton (National Security Archive). See, notice. Location: Room 342, Dirksen Building.

2:30 PM. The Senate Intelligence Committee (SIC) will hold a closed meeting. Location: Room 219, Hart Building.

Day one of a three day event hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) titled "9th Symposium on Identity and Trust on the Internet". See, notice. The price to attend is $180. Location: NIST, Administration Building, Green Auditorium, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

Wednesday, April 14

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. The schedule for the week includes consideration of HR 4954 [LOC | WW], an untitled bill regarding false patent markings, HR 3506 [LOC | WW], the "Eliminate Privacy Notice Confusion Act", HR 1258 [LOC | WW], the "Truth in Caller ID Act of 2009", and HR 3125 [LOC | WW], the "Radio Spectrum Inventory Act". See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for the week of April 12.

9:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The Department of Health and Human Services' (DHHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's (ONCHIT) HIT Policy Committee's NHIN Workgroup will meet by webcast and teleconference. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 17, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 51, at Pages 12752-12753.

RESCHEDULED FROM MARCH 23. 9:30 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "Oversight of the Department of Justice". The witness will be Attorney General Eric Holder. See, notice. The SJC will webcast this event. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on the Constitution, Civil Rights, and Civil Liberties will hold a hearing titled "Report by the Office of the Inspector General of the Department of Justice on the Federal Bureau of Investigation’s Use of Exigent Letters and Other Informal Requests for Telephone Records". See, HJC notice. See also, redacted copy [306 pages in PDF] of the DOJ's Office of the Inspector General's (OIG) January 20, 2010 report, and TLJ story titled "Another DOJ Inspector General Report Finds FBI Misconduct in Obtaining Phone Records" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,037, January 20, 2010. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM - 12:00 NOON. The House Science Committee's (HSC) Subcommittee on Research and Science Education will meet to consider a yet to to be introduced bill regarding National Science Foundation (NSF) programs. The HSC will webcast this event. Location: Room 2318, Rayburn Building.

10:00 - 11:30 AM. The Information Technology and Innovation Foundation (ITIF) will host a panel discussion titled "How IT is Driving the Self-Service Economy". The speakers will be Rob Atkinson (ITIF), Daniel Castro (ITIF), and Steve DelBianco (NetChoice). This event is free and open to the public. The ITIF will webcast this event. Location: ITIF, 1101 K St., NW.

12:00 NOON - 6:00 PM. Day one of a two day meeting of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Engineering Advisory Committee. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 24, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 56, at Page 14205. Location: NSF, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1235, Arlington, VA.

1:00 - 2:30 PM. The American Bar Association (ABA) will host a teleconferenced and webcast panel discussion titled "Data Protection vs. Global Interconnectivity: What Every Employment Lawyer Must Know About the Cross Border Transfer of Personal Information". The speakers will be Philip Berkowitz (Nixon Peabody), Andrea Blander (Oracle), Boris Dzida (Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer), and Miriam Wugmeister (Morrison & Foerster). See, notice. Prices vary.

2:00 PM. The House Oversight and Government Reform Committee (HOGRC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda includes consideration of HR 1722 [LOC | WW], the "Telework Improvements Act of 2009". See, notice. Location: Room 2154, Rayburn Building.

RESCHEDULED FROM MARCH 23. 2:30 PM. The Senate Commerce Committee (SCC) will hold a hearing titled "Reviewing the National Broadband Plan". FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski will testify. See, FCC staff report [376 pages in PDF] titled "A National Broadband Plan for Our Future" and story titled "FCC Releases National Broadband Plan" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,058, March 15, 2010. See, SCC notice. Location: Room 253, Russell Building.

Day two of a three day event hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) titled "9th Symposium on Identity and Trust on the Internet". See, notice. The price to attend is $180. Location: NIST, Administration Building, Green Auditorium, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) regarding its report to Congress regarding the Open-Market Reorganization for the Betterment of International Telecommunications Act (ORBIT Act). See, notice [PDF]. This proceeding is IB Docket No. 10-70.

Extended deadline to submit comments to the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) regarding the ICANN paper [13 pages in PDF] titled "Proposed Initiatives for Improved DNS Security, Stability and Resiliency", and the ICANN paper [18 pages in PDF] titled "Global DNS-CERT Business Case: Improving the Security, Stability and Resiliency of the DNS". See also, ICANN notice.

Thursday, April 15

The House will meet at 10:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for the week of April 12.

8:15 AM - 12:00 NOON. Day two of a two day meeting of the National Science Foundation's (NSF) Engineering Advisory Committee. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 24, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 56, at Page 14205. Location: NSF, 4201 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 1235, Arlington, VA.

10:00 AM. The House Commerce Committee's (HCC) Subcommittee on Telecommunications, Technology and the Internet will hold a hearing titled "The National Broadband Plan: Competitive Availability Of Navigation Devices". See, notice. Location: Room 2123, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The House Judiciary Committee's (HJC) Subcommittee on the Commercial and Administrative Law will hold a hearing titled "State Taxation -- The Impact of Congressional Legislation on State and Local Government Revenues". See, HJC notice. Location: Room 2141, Rayburn Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold an executive business meeting. The agenda again includes consideration of S 3111 [LOC | WW], the "Faster FOIA Act of 2010", a bill to create a powerless commission that would write a toothless report on why federal officials do not comply with the federal Freedom of Information Act (FOIA), which is codified at 5 U.S.C. § 552. The agenda also includes consideration judicial nominees: Sharon Coleman (to be a Judge of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois), Gary Feinerman (USDC/NDIll), and William Martinez (USDC/DColo). The SJC rarely follows its published agendas. The SJC will webcast this event. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM. The Senate Appropriations Committee (SAC) will hold a hearing on the FY 2011 budget for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The witness will be FBI Director John Mueller. Location: Room 192, Dirksen Building.

2:30 PM. The Federal Trade Commission's (FTC) Bureau of Economics (BOE) will host a seminar presented by Annamaria Lusardi (Dartmouth University Department of Economics). She focuses on consumers' financial education and literacy. Location: FTC, Conference Center, 601 New Jersey Ave., NW.

6:00 - 9:15 PM. The DC Bar Association will host an event titled "Relationship Between Intellectual Property and Government Contracts". This is the first of a two part series. The second is on April 22. The speakers will be David Bloch (Winston & Strawn), Richard Gray (DOD Office of General Counsel), John Lucas (Department of Energy), and James McEwen (Stein McEwen). The price to attend ranges from $89 to $129. Most DC Bar events are not open to the public. This event qualifies for continuing legal education (CLE) credits. See, notice. For more information, call 202-626-3488. Location: DC Bar Conference Center, 1101 K St., NW.

Day three of a three day event hosted by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) titled "9th Symposium on Identity and Trust on the Internet". See, notice. The price to attend is $180. Location: NIST, Administration Building, Green Auditorium, 100 Bureau Drive, Gaithersburg, MD.

11:59 PM. Deadline to submit comments to the Executive Office of the President's (EOP) Office of Science and Technology Policy (OSTP) regarding President Obama's documents titled "Strategy for American Innovation" and release titled "Grand Challenges of the 21st Century". See, notice in the Federal Register: February 3, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 22, at Pages 5634-5636.

Friday, April 16

The House may meet at 9:00 AM for legislative business. See, Rep. Hoyer's schedule for the week of April 12.

10:00 AM. The House Financial Services Committee (HFSC) will hold a hearing on HR 2266 [LOC | WW] and HR 2267 [LOC | WW], bills to legalize, regulate, and tax certain internet gambling businesses. See, notice. Location: Room 2128, Rayburn Building.

RESCHEDULED FROM MARCH 24. 10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing on the embattled nomination of Goodwin Liu to be a Judge of the U.S. Court of Appeals (9thCir). This hearing will also cover the nominations of Kimberly Mueller to be Judge of the U.S. District Court (EDCal), Richard Gergel (USDC/DSCar), Michelle Childs (USDC/DSCar), and Catherine Eagles (USDC/MDNC). Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-CA) will preside. See, notice. The SJC will webcast this event. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

10:00 AM - 1:00 PM. The Department of Health and Human Services' (DHHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's (ONCHIT) HIT Policy Committee's Strategic Plan Workgroup will meet by webcast and teleconference. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 17, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 51, at Pages 12752-12753.

12:00 NOON - 2:00 PM. The Progress & Freedom Foundation (PFF) will host a panel discussion titled "Super-Sizing the FTC & What It Means for the Internet, Media & Advertising". The speakers will be Maureen Ohlhausen (Wilkinson Barker & Knauer), Jim Davidson (Polsinelli Shughart), Stu Inglis (Venable), Jack Calfee (AEI), and Berin Szoka (PFF). Lunch will be served. This event is free and open to the public. See, notice. Location: Room SVC 208/209, Capitol Building.

12:00 NOON - 2:15 PM. The Free State Foundation (FSF) will host an event titled "Future of Media Inquiry: What Is The FCC Is Doing -- And Why?". The speakers will include Steve Waldman (FCC), Deborah Tate, Donna Gregg, and James Taranto (Wall Street Journal). Lunch will be served. This event is free and open to the public. Register with Susan Reichbart at sreichbart at freestatefoundation dot org. Location: National Press Club, 13th Floor, 529 14th St. NW.

12:15 - 1:30 PM. The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) will host an event titled "Public Safety Provisions in the National Broadband Plan". Jamie Barnett, Chief of the FCC's Public Safety and Homeland Security Bureau, will preside. Other FCC officials will also be present. The FCBA asserts that this is an FCBA event. Location: Holland & Knight, 2099 Pennsylvania Ave., NW.

Monday, April 19

Day one of a three day event hosted by the American Cable Association (ACA) titled "ACA's 17th Annual Summit". See, notice. Location: Gaylord National Resort, 201 Waterfront Street, National Harbor, MD.

Deadline to submit reply comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Order and Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) regarding expanding the FCC's e-rate tax and subsidy program to cover non-educational uses. This NPRM is FCC 10-33 in CC Docket No. 02-6. The FCC adopted it on February 18, 2010, and released the text [26 pages in PDF] on February 19, 2010. See, notice in the Federal Register, March 5, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 43, at Page 10199-10203, and story titled "FCC Expands E-Rate Program to Cover Non-Educational Services" in TLJ Daily E-Mail Alert No. 2,047, February 18, 2010.

Deadline to submit initial comments to the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) in response to its Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) in its proceeding titled "In the Matter of Jurisdictional Separations and Referral to the Federal-State Joint Board". The FCC adopted this item on March 26, 2010, and released the text [22 pages in PDF] on March 29, 2010. This NPRM is FCC 10-47 in CC Docket No. 80-286. Jurisdictional separations is the process by which incumbent local exchange carriers (ILEC) apportion regulated costs between the intrastate and interstate jurisdictions. There is an order in effect, which the FCC keeps extending, that freezes category relationships and jurisdictional cost allocation factors, pending some hypothetical future comprehensive reform. This NPRM proposes to once again extend the freeze, which is currently set to expire on June 30, 2010, until June 30, 2011. See, notice in the Federal Register, April 5, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 64, at Pages 17109-17111.

Tuesday, April 20

8:30 AM - 5:00 PM. Day one of a three day closed meeting of the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) Homeland Security Science and Technology Advisory Committee. See, notice in the Federal Register: April 12, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 69, at Page 18516. Location: National Biodefense Analysis and Countermeasures Center, 110 Thomas Johnson Drive, Suite 400, Frederick, MD.

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM. The Department of Health and Human Services' (DHHS) Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology's (ONCHIT) HIT Policy Committee's Meaningful Use Workgroup will holding a meeting by webcast and teleconference on "Patient Engagement". See, notice in the Federal Register, March 17, 2010, Vol. 75, No. 51, at Pages 12752-12753.

10:00 AM. The Senate Judiciary Committee (SJC) will hold a hearing titled "Oversight of the U.S. Department of Justice, Civil Rights Division". The witness will be Thomas Perez, Assistant Attorney General in charge of the Civil Rights Division. The SJC will webcast this event. Sen. Benjamin Cardin (D-MD) will preside. See, notice. Location: Room 226, Dirksen Building.

2:00 - 3:30 PM. The Department of Justice's (DOJ) Antitrust Division will host a seminar presented by Heski Bar-Isaac (NYU) titled "Search, Design and Market Structure". See, paper [32 pages in PDF] with the same title. It pertains to competition in the internet search market. For more information, contact Patrick Greenlee at 202-307-3745 or atr dot eag at usdoj dot gov. Location: DOJ, Liberty Square Building, 450 5th St., NW.

5:00 - 7:00 PM. The Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) will host a technology showcase titled "CES on the Hill". There will be a preview for reporters at 4:30 PM. Location: Caucus Room, Russell Building, Capitol Hill.

6:00 - 8:00 PM. The DC Bar Association will host an event titled "Intellectual Property Law Section 2010 Annual Spring Reception". The speakers will include Marybeth Peters (Register of Copyrights) and Judge Richard Linn (U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit). See, notice. The price to attend ranges from $40 to $60. The DC Bar has a history of barring reporters from attending its events. Location: Dolley Madison House, 1520 H St., NW.

Day two of a three day event hosted by the American Cable Association (ACA) titled "ACA's 17th Annual Summit". See, notice. Location: Gaylord National Resort, 201 Waterfront Street, National Harbor, MD.